UK cash box finds nothing to bank on

A British company that wanted to buy
National Australia Bank
’s UK business will shut its doors after failing in its bid to acquire bank branches.

NBNK is a listed cash box that was set up by former Lloyds of London chairman Peter Levene to buy banking assets being offloaded by institutions hit by the financial crisis.

On Wednesday in the UK, Lloyds Banking Group agreed to terms to sell 632 bank branches to rival bidder The Co-op, overlooking an offer from NBNK. It was the latest blow for NBNK, which had also tried unsuccessfully to buy NAB’s Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in the UK.

NAB chief
Cameron Clyne
ordered a review of the bank’s UK business earlier this year, which examined the option of selling Clydesdale and Yorkshire. But he opted to dramatically scale down the business, rejecting the idea of a sale for now.

After it missed out on the Lloyds branches, NBNK issued a statement saying it planned to close its doors.

“The directors of NBNK have concluded that there are no other UK banking assets available for sale that would meet the company’s objectives and, consequently, they expect to commence steps to wind up the company," the statement said.

NBNK listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market in 2010, raising £50 million ($77.5 million). Investors will get about 40 per cent of their cash back.